Four Cylinder Fast Cars

Maximum Performance, Minimum Engine

Honda Civic Type R Concept and the Top 10 Best Four Cylinder Performance Cars

Honda Civic Type-R Four Cylinder Concept

Today (or rather yesterday in France) at the Paris Motor Show, Honda has continued their… um, let’s say… extended unveiling of the next-gen four cylinder Honda Civic Type-R. And, in the tradition of the Acura NSX Type-R and Acura Integra Type-R (both badged as Hondas in Europe), this latest über Civic packs a wallop.

But, what exactly is a wallop? How about 276 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder with a rev-happy redline of 7,000 rpm? I believe that, for a Honda Civic, that more than qualifies as a wallop. A six-speed manual gearbox, adaptive dampers and something called a “steer axis” hint that the Honda Civic Type-R concept is more than worth of the R designation from a performance standpoint. The bonkers aero kit, big wheels… sorry, rims, and seriously low-profile tires make sure the little four cylinder Type-R looks the part.

Back of the Honda Civic Type-R Four Cylinder Concept

Push the +R button, and the Honda Civic Type-R become more taught in terms of torque mapping, suspension and steering. Whether or not, that means Honda’s latest rocket four cylinder will actually perform as well as it looks on paper (or on screen) will have to be determined after the car goes into production in Swindon, UK and deliveries start rolling out to Europe next year.

I’m not sure if we’ll get a Honda Civic Type-R on this side of the Atlantic. But, fear not, we have plenty of fast four cylinder cars on our shores. In fact, there’s pretty much one for every budget. So, here is the TickTickVroom list of the Top Ten Fast Four Cylinder Cars, in no particular order.

Reason to Buy: Convertible. Go-kart-handling. Incredibly fun to drive. Minimal torque-steer. Great transmission. Cavernous interior. Gives the Golf GTI a serious run for its money. I had a 2006 Mini Cooper S JCW. I wish I still had it.

Reason to Buy: Incredibly fun to drive. Great power. Relatively easy to tune. Amazing handling in any condition on any road, anywhere. Fade-free braking. Three words: Six. Speed. Stick. I have one. I love it.

Negatives: Not the best interior quality with not enough bolstering on the seats. Slight and very brief wobble from the front wheels on hard acceleration. Needs stickier tires. Would top 1.0 g on the skidpad with the Evo X’s Yokohama Advans.